A Very Merry Kidge Week 2017
by DGMSilverAirHead03
Summary: Seven days, seven prompts, and the two arms of Voltron. Rating may change.
1. Chapter 1: Jealousy

Day One: Jealousy

Pidge hated being jealous. It wasn't fun, it made her feel sick, and it made her feel nasty things she didn't want to feel. She especially hated that because of those things, it made her not want to be around Keith.

So she started avoiding him.

Which was actually really freaking hard, because, yes the castle ship is huge, but there are only seven people living on it ( _six now,_ a mournful voice whispers in the back of her mind), so she seems to run into him everywhere. The training deck and the Lions' Bay she avoids because those are the obvious places he'd be. But he also shows up in the kitchen when she starts to feel hungry, or the pool if she wants to take a dip. She has to go to the bridge eventually and she knows that even if Keith isn't there, Coran would be and she can't deal with him right now. She doesn't want to think about the other person who would likely be on the bridge, too. Or the other _other_ person who should be there, wearing black armor with a smile on his face and not missing, leaving a gaping wound in their bond.

Pidge doesn't think about a lot of things these days, but mostly she doesn't think about Keith.

She doesn't think of his concern for Shiro and Lance when they'd been in the healing pods and how she'd vaguely wondered if he'd be just as concerned if it'd been her. She doesn't think of how majorly pissed off she was when he and Allura isolated themselves from the group in open space and how she was roughly aware that she wasn't angry they'd gone, but that they'd gone _together, alone, in the middle of the night._ She doesn't think of how upset and offended he was when Allura reacted to the news of him being Galra, as if the idea that she hated him was agonizing and unbearable. She definitely doesn't think of the time before Keith left to infiltrate Zarkon's command ship and Allura requested to be left alone with him and that bitter churning in her stomach moved to her mouth when she tossed out, "Have all the moments you like," and walked out with her head hung low.

She didn't want to be jealous, and she especially didn't want to be jealous of Allura, who was sweet and pure and graceful. Allura, the only other girl on the ship. Allura, who was her friend and now, every time Pidge saw her, that feeling from the hangar returned full force and made her want to puke.

She sighed and put her head on her arms.

Jealousy was terrible.


	2. Chapter 2: Loss

**A/N:** if I made a mistake with any of Lance's spiel in the middle please let me know in a PM. Enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Voltron.

Day Two: Loss

When Pidge woke up, she did what she usually did: yawn, stretch, and check her calendar.

April 3. Her heart sank. Another year older, and she still hadn't found her brother and father. She turned fifteen today, and she wasn't going to celebrate with her mother. She probably wasn't going to celebrate at all. Lance and Hunk didn't know her real birthday; she didn't think Lance even knew the fake one she put on her enlistment forms for the Garrison.

Keith, Allura and Coran definitely didn't know. Keith met her for the first time rescuing Shiro... and did Alteans even have birthdays? Did they celebrate those? She made a mental note to ask Coran.

Shiro might've known but he... wasn't around. So Pidge resigned herself to a really crummy fifteenth birthday and prayed to whatever gods would listen that her sixteenth wouldn't be as well.

-•-

Keith frowned as Pidge sighed into her space goo _again_. She'd been doing that all morning and at first he was irritated, but now he was just concerned. He nudged her gently with his elbow. "You okay, Pidge? You seem down."

She looked up and gave him a wry smirk. "Bad day that's all. Don't worry about it."

Keith pre-missing-Shiro would have left it at that. Pre-missing-Shiro Keith didn't but into other people's business.

But Keith was the Black Paladin (for now) and if he was going to lead this team half as well as Shiro did, he needed to step up. "Wanna talk about it?"

Pidge blinked up at him, surprise clear on her face. Then she blushed and looked down. "It's stupid," she muttered, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"I doubt that," said Keith. He pushed his own plate of goo away and placed his elbow on the table, chin propped up on his fist and body angled toward his sister-in-arms. (Hehehe get it? Who says Keith doesn't have a sense of humor.)

A small smile flitted across Pidge's face. "Well, it's... sort of my birthday. Or, it is if I've been tracking the days correctly. April third. I'm fifteen today."

"Oh." She was sad because it was her birthday? Keith didn't really care about his birthday until Shiro made a big deal out of it the first time, but he knew from observing others that usually teenage girls were excited for their birthdays. "Happy birthday Pidge."

The smile was a little bigger this time. "Thanks Keith, but I'm not sad because nobody remembered. I'm sad because I'm not celebrating with my family. I kind of hoped I'd have found Matt and Dad by now, ya know? And all that's happened is I've lost another brother."

He winced slightly at the reminder but nodded. "We'll find them Pidge. Finding your dad and brother are priorities, just like finding Shiro."

"Thanks," she mumbled, "again, I guess. But it's still a little depressing." She pushed her chair back and stood. "Hey, I know I'm not supposed to, but I'm gonna skip team training. I just can't today."

Keith just nodded, something of an idea forming in his mind. "Sure Pidge. Take the day off. See you at dinner?"

She hummed, waving a hand behind at him and walking out. He waited a moment and got up. He had a plan and he needed some help.

-•-

"It's _what?!_ " Lance screeched. "How do you know?!"

"She told me," said Keith tightly. _Patience yields focus_ , he thought. But what yielded patience, because Lance was testing the limits of his.

Hunk just looked confused. "I thought Pidge's birthday was in November?"

"Dude she probably lied on her forms. I mean, if she lied about being a girl and her name, it's not that much of a stretch," Lance answered. "What's the date anyway?"

"April third," replied Keith. "What is it Allura?"

The temporary Red Paladin had her hand in the air, as she had seen Hunk do once for Shiro's attention. She figured that even though she was a princess, while she piloted Red, she should treat Keith as an authority. "Excuse me, what is a birthday?"

Lance stared at her incredulously. "Uh, a celebration of the day you're born? Do Alteans not have birthdays?"

Perhaps her universal translator was malfunctioning. "But surely Pidge was born at least a decafebe ago? Why have you waited so long? Did you forget?" Pidge's behavior this morning would make much more sense if she had never received such an important ceremony.

"No, like, it's the celebration of the anniversary of the day you were born," explained Hunk quickly. "It's an annual thing. Happens every year."

Realization dawned on the princess's face. "Oh a begetting anniversary! Oh dear, is Pidge's today?! No wonder she's so discontent!"

"How old is Number Five anyway?" Coran asked.

"She said fifteen," began Keith when Lance's screech cut him off. Again.

"FIFTEEN?! SHE'S FIFTEEN? THATS A VERY IMPORTANT BIRTHDAY OMG GUYS WE HAVE TO FIX THIS! MUSIC, FLOWERS, FLOWY DRESSES, CAKE!"

"Lance," cried Allura, looking slightly alarmed. "What is the issue?"

"If Pidge doesn't get her quinceanera, it'll be terrible!"

"Lance, Pidge is, like, German or something, not Cuban. She wouldn't have a quinceanera anyway," said Hunk.

Lance deflated a bit at that. "Oh yeah. Darn. My sister's was awesome and I think it would've been cool to do that for Pidge."

"Well we can still celebrate," added Allura, as Coran pulled out a data pad. "What do we need? Lance said something about a cake? Is that a decoration?"

"It's food," said Keith, relieved that someone was getting them back on track. "And I'm pretty sure it's decorated somehow."

"Leave it to me," declared Hunk. "I'll whip something up, just keep her out of the kitchen."

"Great!" Allura turned to Keith. "What else? Are there any traditional gifts we should try to acquire?"

"No, but we should get her some kind of present," replied Keith. Lance smacked his fist in his palm. "Oh! We could go back to the swap moon earth store and see if we can get her a hookup for her Mercury."

"Negative Number Three," barked Coran, slicing the air with his hand. "I doubt any of us are welcome back there after last time."

"I could go," volunteered Allura. "I wasn't with you last time, so I won't cause a scene."

"But Princess-!"

"Coran, that place wasn't anything like you remember. Allura will be fine," interrupted Keith, folding his arms. Allura beamed and began to ask Hunk what she should buy for Pidge. "See if you can pick up streamers or a ton of green paper or something," added Lance. "I'll make some decorations and a tiara for the birthday girl."

Allura looked horrified. "A tiara made of paper? Absolutely not. She may wear one of mine. And I shall not wear one in deference to her celebration."

"Lance, you and I will work on decorating the bridge with Allura when she gets back," concluded Keith. "Until then, let's clean up a little."

"Should we wear formal attire?" Allura inquired. "You all have official Paladin formal wear you know. And I can loan Pidge a gown."

"No gowns," said Keith quickly. Pidge probably wouldn't like that.

Coran looked thoughtful. "I could alter the Green Paladin formal wear to be a tad more feminine. I can do so for the Red as well, Princess."

Allura looked askance at Keith and quickly declined. Keith looked at her gratefully; he'd like to have his gear back when Shiro was returned to them, preferably not feminized.

"Alright everyone, you have your assignments. Let's get to work."

-•-

Allura looked about the swap moon, eyes alight. This was absolutely fascinating. She glanced at the large timepiece in the center and nodded: she had two vargas to complete the list Hunk had dictated to her and Lance had told her roughly where the shop was. She was determined to do this correctly for Pidge. While they'd not been close before, after Shiro's disappearance, the Green Paladin had started to avoid her. She wasn't quite sure why- Allura hoped she hadn't offended the other girl somehow. But she wanted them to be close. Allura hadn't had many girlfriends on Altea, only ladies-in-waiting that were entirely too giggly for her taste. She had always thought that there was a time and place for girlish behavior and Pidge seemed to understand that as well.

-•-

Hunk surveyed the terrain of his battleground: some green goo, a few sweet grasses he'd obtained on Olkarion, some Balmeran rock candy Shay had given him, and some flour-like substance from Arus. He tightened his headband, donned his apron, and retrieved his whisk. The Yellow Paladin had work to do.

-•-

Coran looked around the princess's chambers for red and green cloth. Number Five's gear needed to be altered significantly, and while Allura declined alterations for Number Four's sake, a few minor, easily removed details would be simple enough to manage.

He also inspected the princess's tiara collection and chose one Pidge perhaps wouldn't mind wearing. It was a circlet made of delicate silver leaves that came to a downward point and had a shimmering green stone set into it.

"Yes," murmured Coran happily, "this will do nicely."

-•-

In hindsight, pairing himself up with Lance was not the smartest idea he'd ever had.

"I'm telling you Mullet, we should set a circle of chairs for party games!"

"I'm not saying we shouldn't, I'm saying that _that's_ where the table for the cake is going!"

"I thought that was over by Coran's control panel!"

"That's the table for the gifts! We can't put food over there, Coran will throw a fit!"

"Argh! Fine! Where then?!"

"I don't know! It was your idea, you figure it out!"

Oh yeah, worst idea he'd ever had.

-•-

Pidge woke up to a chime echoing in her room and Allura's voice on the comms. "Pidge, sorry to bother you, but could you come down to the bridge? I'm afraid we're in need of assistance."

She sighed. "What is it Allura?"

"Believe me, you'll know when you see it."

That was foreboding. "Alright, I'm coming."

She put on her glasses and shoes and trudged down the hall. She stopped in front of the bridge's entrance and frowned. Something smelled burnt, ohmygawd whatdidtheybreak-

The door slid open and Pidge rushed in only to reel back when the entire team threw green confetti at her, screaming, "SURPRISE!"

Pidge gaped at them all, dumbfounded. The boys, Allura and Coran were dressed it what she could only assume was Altean formal wear: white breeches and tunics that had gold embroidery on them paired with sashes the color of their respective lions that went diagonally across their torsos, around their waists, and, in Allura's case, flared out like a skirt behind her. There were green and white streamers hanging from the ceiling and green paper roses and cranes- homemade, if the bandages on Keith and Lance's hands were anything to go by- scattered across some tables that had poorly wrapped gifts and a lopsided mountainous thing covered in what looked like rocks sitting in them.

Allura stepped forward, holding out her arms and said, "A very blessed begetting anniversary to you, Pidge! May your celebration be full of life and merriment!"

"Happy birthday Pidge," said Hunk, beaming. "Sorry about the cake, I know it looks weird, but I didn't have much to work with."

"Pidge! Buddy! How could you tell Mullet it was your birthday before me," gasped Lance dramatically. "And the big quince, too!"

"Merry begetting day Number Five! If you'll come with me and Allura, we can get you into your party outfit!" Coran announced, flourishing an outfit much like Allura's but with shorter sleeves and skirt and a higher neckline.

Pidge stared at them all and she could feel a prickly sensation in the corner of her eyes. Suddenly everyone seemed a lot less cheerful and Allura looked terrified.

"Pidge?"

Keith's low, cautious voice filtered through and Pidge sniffled, throwing herself at the black and white blob she knew was him. She started crying in earnest when Keith awkwardly folded his arms around her. "This w-was s-s-so s-s-swee-eet of y-you guys!"

Lance and Hunk let out twin sighs of relief and she felt Keith relax and give her a quick squeeze. She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and turned to Allura's soft caring eyes. "Come along then. We're having a celebration and you should be properly attired. Especially as the guest of honor."

She allowed Allura to lead her to the chamber where she would normally don her armor. She was surprised when the princess remained. "Er, I can usually manage this myself, princess."

"Oh," said Allura, her warm smile faltering slightly. "Of course, it's just... Lance was describing his sister's fifteenth year celebration and he mentioned something about a court of honor. There was a similar tradition on Altea. We spent a week before a begetting celebration preparing, so to me this is a bit rushed... and I know that I'm not your first choice for a... I don't remember what Lance called it. But I thought perhaps... I hoped you would allow me to help you get ready."

Well, Pidge couldn't very well say no after that. "Sure Allura."

The princess's head snapped up and she clasped her hands together in front of her breast, eyes shining. "Really?!"

"Yeah. You can tell me about all the preparations I'm going to need to know when your... begetting day comes around." Allura's eyes filled with tears and she embraced Pidge. "That would be lovely. I look forward to it."

She pulled away and dabbed at the tears gathering in the corner of her eyes. "Right then. First, we anoint you!"

"Huh?"

Allura brandished a brush and a container of shimmering liquid that smelled sweet and slightly fruity. "I'll put a dab of this at the tips of your ears, the center of the tops of your hands, and at your clavicle. Don't worry, it washes off easily enough."

"Okay, okay. Hurry up! I want to see if the cake tastes better than it looks!"

Pidge pulled on the white garments as Allura circled her, gently brushing the sweet-smelling substance in the aforementioned places. She turned away and brought forth a long green bolt of fabric. "Now the sash. Hold your arms out please."

Pidge obediently did as she asked and Allura wound the fabric twice around her waist, looped it over her right shoulder, and then arranged the excess so that it flowed down her back in a train. The princess ran a critical eye over the birthday girl, then took a pin from an ornate box on the bench. It was silver, and styled to look like a flower Pidge wasn't familiar with. The petals were formed by a stone that looked almost like an opal. "This is my gift to you. I received it on my fifteenth begetting anniversary, so I thought it would be fitting to pass it in to you."

Allura leaned forward and gently tucked the pin in place at the neck of her tunic. Pidge smiled and cleared her throat. "Thank you Allura. It's really beautiful."

"You are most welcome, Pidge," she murmured warmly. "Now, in Altean culture there is more but I'm afraid we haven't the time. We mustn't keep the gentlemen waiting."

Pidge turned toward the door when Allura cried, "Oh! I almost forgot!"

She felt a light weight settle on her head and Allura let out a satisfied hum. "There. Lance said birthday girls get tiaras. This shall do just fine!"

Pidge reached up, touching the green jewel that rested on her brow. "Wow. I'm not keeping this right? Cause I think I'd break it."

Allura laughed. "No dear. Just the pin."

Pidge and Allura came back to the bridge and Pidge laughed at the sight before them: Lance and Hunk had turned on some music as were teaching Coran the Macarena while Keith watched on, munching on something green and yellow and rolling his eyes. Allura squeezed her shoulder and joined the impromptu dance lesson, laughing in delight. Pidge walked over to Keith and nudged him. "So. Thanks for this."

He glanced at her and then abruptly turned his head away. "No problem. You were down, it was your birthday, and you deserve a break." He cleared his throats and said, haltingly, "You... you look really nice, by the way."

She gaped at him and blushed. "Oh, uh, thanks. You clean up pretty good, too."

He may prefer red, but he looked really good in black. Especially with his hair tied back like he had it.

Keith was having a difficult time hiding his growing blush. It was just Pidge for crying out loud, why won't his heart stop racing?

There was a shout and the two Paladins jerked their view from each other to the makeshift dance floor: Coran had fallen on his behind with Hunk flat on top of him with Lance laughing hysterically next to Allura, who was pinching the bridge of her nose.

Keith sighed. "I'm gonna go get Hunk up. Try the yellow things, they're pretty good." Pidge waved him away with a grin. She watched him walk away, butterflies fluttering around her tummy. She had lost much, it was true. But what she gained, she wouldn't change for the world.


	3. Chapter 3: Change

**A/N:** this takes place like a month after the second chapter.

Day Three: Change

Allura hummed pleasantly as she flicked through new information on her data pad. Zarkon may be out of the picture but the Galra Empire was vast and had many generals. Now was not the time to get complacent, especially when Shiro was still missing. She was determined to find him, for all their sakes.

The door to the lounge whooshed and Pidge stepped through. She paused in the doorway and smiled awkwardly. Allura smiled back, not wanting to startle her. They'd made progress in their friendship since her begetting anniversary and Allura didn't want to ruin it. "Good evening Pidge. We missed you at dinner, were you working on something?"

"Just going through some of the information we got on the last raid," she replied, removing her glasses. She rubbed her eyes and yawned before sitting down across from Allura. They sat in comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company, until the door whooshed again and the Black Paladin entered.

All at once the comfortable atmosphere deteriorated.

Allura saw Pidge glance at him and turn a curious shade of pink. She glanced at Allura next and paled, noticing her attention. Allura furrowed her brow, confusion taking hold. Was Pidge sick? She glanced at Keith, who was looking anywhere but Pidge.

Oh dear.

Something had clearly changed here and she wasn't quite sure what. She was about to address the situation when Pidge leapt to her feet and blurted out, "Igottagobye!"

And she was gone. Allura closed her mouth and looked to Keith. The Black Paladin had one hand reaching out slightly toward the door, but let it fall to his side when it closed.

She cleared her throat and Keith jumped. Allura fought down a smile; he'd forgotten she was there. "Keith, is something wrong? Pidge seemed awfully uncomfortable."

He stiffened and grumbled, "How the hell should I know." He made a quick excuse about finding Lance for a spar and disappeared the way he came. Allura narrowed her eyes and decided to get to the bottom of the situation.

-•-

She found Pidge elbow deep in Green's maintenance hatch, blue grease smeared across her face and bare arms, over sized shirt discarded on the floor. Her black tank top had similar stains and Allura, attired in what Lance had dubbed her 'princess clothes', felt overdressed. A low sniff came from the hatch and alarm sprung into her breast. "Pidge? Is something the matter?"

The other girl jolted and yelped, falling from her perch. Allura hurried to the fallen Paladin and knelt next to her. "Pidge! Stars above, are you alright?!"

She helped Pidge sit up. "You really shouldn't go up there without someone watching! You could've gotten seriously injured!" Pidge scowled, rubbing the back of her head. "I would've been fine if you hadn't snuck up on me!"

Allura rose to her feet. "Forgive me for being concerned! You left so suddenly when Keith came in, I thought perhaps he had upset you somehow. I can see now that I was the problem."

"No! Ugh, no, Allura, neither of you is the problem!" Pidge folded in on herself, wrapping her arms around her knees and pressed her forehead against them. "...it's me."

Allura didn't think she heard that correctly. "You... made yourself upset? How on Altea did you manage that?"

She had to strain to hear the mumbled reply, "...jealous of...ou and Keith... perfect... can't compete."

It clicked then. The blushes, the awkwardness in her company, avoiding both of them whenever possible- Allura shook her head in disbelief. How could she have missed it?

"Pidge, I care about Keith but I'm not in love with him."

Her head lifted and Pidge stared. "I'm also fairly certain he's not in love with me either." Her eyes widened.

"Wha?"

"So you see, absolutely nothing is stopping you from taking initiative." Pidge was steadily turning red now.

"I have it on good authority it would be well received." Well, that was a guess, from what she's observed. Pidge's standoffishness hadn't made sense before, but with this context of jealousy, Allura could make connections.

Pidge abruptly stood and wrapped her arms around Allura's middle. "Thanks."

Allura beamed. "Anytime. Go get yourself a Black Paladin."

Pidge raced out of the room and Allura looked down at her grease smudged gown.

Worth it.

-•-

There was a knock at Keith's door and he was tempted to ignore it. But that wouldn't be very leader-ly so he rolled off his bed and keyed open the door.

He turned red almost immediately. Pidge stood there in her shorts and a tight black tank top, glasses askew and chest heaving. She was out of breath and pink from exertion and it was a tempting picture, even with the grease streaks.

"Hey Pidge... what's-?"

"Do you like me?" she demanded, fists jammed on her hips.

Oh boy. Proceed with caution Keith, extreme caution. "Of course I like you."

"No do you _like_ like me?"

Abort. ABORT. Distract. Now. "What are we sixth graders?"

"Answer the question Kogane."

Panic Mode now activated. "Well?"

Shut down imminent. "Keith?"

"I... yeah."

The silence lasted for one beat of his heart and then Pidge was turning just as red as him. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Then... then why not say something?"

Keith looked down the corridor and coughed. "I just... didn't think you'd..."

"Oh." Pidge got the picture. "Well you were wrong."

Wait. What?

"Huh?"

"You heard me."

"Oh."

They stood there awkwardly for a few beats, and then Keith asked, haltingly, "So, do we... kiss or something now?"

Pidge blinked. "I don't know. I've never done this before."

He chuckled at that and glanced down the hallway again. Then he leaned down and pecked her on the cheek, pulling back slightly to look at her. Pidge stared at him and then, slowly, "I liked that."

Keith grinned and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in and letting her cling to his waist.

Allura leaned against the wall, just out of sight and beamed. So much had changed in the past three months, but this was a change she could get behind.


	4. Chapter 4: Crush

**A/N:** sometime before Change but after Loss

Day Four: Crush

No.

She refuses.

Pidge honestly didn't know how this happened. One minute she was cracking jokes, like she always does, and Keith is laughing and then she's looking at his stupid face and realizing that she really likes it when he laughs, cause his face morphs into this sharp grin and he snorts through his nose and-

No.

She refuses.

Absolutely not.

Katie "Pidge" Holt does NOT have a crush on Keith Kogane.

Pidge nodded firmly to herself. "Of course I don't have a crush," she muttered to her computer. "I feel the same about him as I do about Lance and Hunk!"

She doesn't see Keith any differently than she does the other Paladins. He's her brother-in-arms, her partner in crime, her friend!

No.

She refuses.

Absolutely not.

Pidge does NOT have a crush on Keith.

Except.

Nope! She shoved away from her work station and heads to the kitchen. Hunk or Coran would be there and they would provide a sufficient distraction from her thoughts. She enters and, shockingly, neither of them are there.

But Keith is.

Of course he is. He looked up as the door whooshed open and raised a hand in greeting. "Hey Pidge."

"Hey Keith." Oh god, did her voice get higher? Girls' voices get higher when they're around people they like right? No, no, her voice was normal. Because she did _not_ like Keith. "I was just looking for Hunk, seen him around?"

"Yeah, he and Lance went to the bridge to talk to Allura."

"Thanks!"

She turned on her heel and headed back down the hall, heart racing and cheeks flushed.

No.

She refuses.

Absolutely not.

Katie Holt does NOT have a crush on Keith Kogane.

Except, she totally does.

-•-

Keith stood from the table as soon as Pidge left and stormed toward the training deck. He needed to punch something.

Anything to get rid of those stupid little flutterings in his stomach that he does not have time for. Not with Shiro missing and the team freaking out.

He does not have time for a crush on the only female member of the team. Besides, if she did decide she liked one of them, why would it be _him_?

She'd go for Lance. Lance was smoother, more comfortable with girls than he was and shared her sense of humor. They were the reigning King and Queen of Memes (according to Hunk, Keith wasn't even completely sure what a meme _was_ ).

Or Shiro. Shiro, who always knew she was a girl, who knew her family and wanted to find them as badly as she did, whose disappearance devastated her because he was her only link to her former life.

Even Hunk would make her a better partner. He understood her technical jargon, for the most part. He could bond with her over the intricacies of their Lions, joke with her while he baked, and comfort her when she was upset about her family or Shiro.

Heck, if either of them swung that way, Allura would be better, too. Or maybe not, Keith mused as he entered the training deck. He was pretty sure something had been going on between her and Shiro before he disappeared.

Either way, the last person Pidge would go for would be him, and so _he did not have time for this._

And unless a miracle happened, he never would.


	5. Chapter 5: Growth

Day Five: Growth

It was oddly quiet on board the Castle of Lions. Pidge would normally use this time to work on the Lions, making repairs and the like.

But every time she tried to focus, Green would butt into her consciousness and whine at her. They were close to the planet where she and Pidge had first bonded and _apparently_ , mechanical magic lions suffered from nostalgia on occasion.

The sixth time Green intruded on her psyche, Pidge threw down her wrench and sighed. "Fine, we'll go! But we're not going alone!"

Pidge jumped to her feet and dashed out of The Lions' Bay. Time to drag her new boyfriend on their first date.

-•-

"Where are we going, Pidge?"

"I told you, this is the planet Green was hiding out on for a millennia!"

Keith snorted and landed Black next to the much smaller Green. He disembarked hurriedly; he still felt uncomfortable in the purple glowing cockpit.

Pidge was inspecting their surroundings eagerly. When he paused beside her, Pidge slid her hand into his and pulled him toward the river. "We went this way. A sloth took us down the river in his boat."

"A...sloth?"

"Yeah I thought that was kinda weird, too, but hey, sentient space sloths. Why not?"

They made considerably slower time than before, but it wasn't too bad. Keith was with his girlfriend, he was holding her hand, and she was chattering about how she had been freaking out about piloting a giant green lion. "I totally thought I was going to be too short to reach the pedals, can you believe that? Like magical robot lion, of course it has pedals. I was freaking out, Keith, I really was."

He chuckled at the thought of Pidge sitting in a chair too big for her, straining for the pedals. "Shows how suited you are to Green; she adjusted herself to make it easier for you."

Pidge laughed. "Yeah but only after giving me weird impressions of her stepping on me if she wasn't careful. Then she assured me that I'd grow into her."

Keith smiled briefly, staring ahead. Pidge nudged him lightly. "Hey Emo Boyfriend. What's with the aimless staring?"

"...it's stupid."

"Say it anyway."

He shrugged. "I was just wondering if I'd have time to grow into Black. And then, ya know, felt vaguely guilty."

"Cause of Shiro?"

"...Yeah."

Pidge considered it for a moment, humming. "Well... personally I think you've already grown. Just a bit. We all have."

She was right too. Lance was more confident than when they started, and was more secure in his ability to adapt, as water flows into all open spaces. Hunk was living up to the whole Defender of the Universe title, as if he'd been born to it, stable as the earth. Pidge had formed strong, unbreakable bond with the whole team, like the roots of a tall oak, a marked difference from when they first started all this. And Keith had grown more solid, more like a steady flame of a hearth than an unpredictable wildfire; providing life-preserving warmth but still dangerous.

Keith glanced down at her and chuckled as another concept of growth occurred to him.

"What?"

"Some of us have grown a little more than others." Pidge gasped and slapped his arm. "I was being profound and you turned it into a short joke! I'm breaking up with you."

"No you're not."

"Whatever, you're short, too. The only thing that grows with you is your stupid hair."

Keith reached back and tugged at his mullet. "I do sort of need a trim, don't I?"

Pidge tugged on his sleeve and he leaned down. "I was kidding. I love your stupid mullet." And she kissed his cheek. He was about to lean down further and kiss her properly when she peeked up and cried, "This is it! This is where I found Green!"

She bounded up the large stone steps and started to climb the stout roots surrounding the temple. Keith jogged to catch up and watched to make sure she wouldn't fall.

No matter how much growth (physical or otherwise) had occurred, Pidge was still the youngest and he didn't want Space Mom getting on his case for not taking care of his girl.


End file.
